This astonishing first play by Margaret Edson won its author a Pulitzer Prize in 1999.  It starred Kathleen Chalfant on Broadway and Emma Thompson in last spring’s HBO made-for-TV movie directed by  Mike Nichols.  PCS is proud to be among the first to bring it to the non-professional stage. 

  March 14-30,  2002

Directed by George Mulford

Vivian Bearing is a world-class scholar, a specialist in the poems of John Donne, a forceful, witty, captivating woman.  As the play begins, she introduces herself and tells her story.

            Vivian:  I’ll never forget the time I found out I had cancer.

            Doctor: You have cancer.

            Vivian, to audience: See?  Unforgettable.  It was something of a shock.  I had to sit down.

           Doctor: Please sit down.

 We see Vivian struggle to maintain her considerable personal dignity as the often mindless routine of hospital visits settles in around her.  She explains her intellectual development as we watch her physical deterioration.  By the end we know we are watching an extraordinary human being come to grips with life’s ultimate questions. 

Tayna Lazar as Vivian Bearing, Ph.D.

The New York Times’ reviewer felt “both enlightened and in a strange way, enormously comforted” by the play.  New York Magazine called it “a dazzling and humane new play that you will remember till your dying day.”  Anyone who has been in a hospital will also find it very, very funny, as the punch of Vivian’s wit finds its mark on all the right noses.

Audience Advisory:
This is a play for adults; it treats adult themes in an honest, though not offensive, manner. 

Discussion following a performance of WIT

Representatives of the Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation will join us on Friday night, March 22, for a post-show discussion.  The audience is cordially invited to attend and participate.  During all performances, their materials are available in the lobby.

The cast:

Vivian Bearing, Ph.D....................................Tanya Lazar
Susie Monahan, R.N., B.S.N..........................Lindsay Erb
Jason Posner, M.D.....................................Toby Mulford
Harvey Kelekian, M.D................................Charles Hicks
E.M. Ashford, D. Phil......................................Anne Bailis
Lab Technicians, Students, Residents:

 Jim Carroll, Jim Ludovici, Christine Riggio, Jillian Cassidy

Production staff:

Director....................................................George Mulford
Assistant Director.........................................Teddie Psitos
Second Assistant Director...........................Barbara Hicks
Producer.....................................................George Ainslie